City terminates agreement with Village on the River developer

The city of Sioux Falls has terminated its development agreement and ground lease with the developer of the Village on the River project.

According to a news release from the city, “The project can and will proceed as a stand-alone parking ramp which will alleviate parking challenges within downtown Sioux Falls.”

The city entered into a development agreement with Village River Group in December 2017 for construction of a mixed-use development including a public parking ramp and private hotel with leasable retail space on a city-owned parking lot along 10th Street east of Phillips Avenue.

According to the city, it notified Village River Group on April 1 that it was in default on the project. The developer had 30 days to cure multiple defaults and failed, the city said in its news release. It did not detail what those defaults were.

Last week, Village River Group said it was asking the city for approval to reduce the scope of the project after incentives they had hoped to secure never materialized and construction costs came in higher than they had anticipated.

One member of the development group, Jeff Lamont, CEO of Aberdeen-based Lamont Cos., said the development was proposed to be four stories shorter than once planned and include one hotel instead of two.

The current design is a seven-story parking ramp topped by a four-story hotel with an adjacent three-story building that includes the lobby, some retail, office and event uses.

After issuing its statement, the city clarified it has not ruled out private development at the site in the future but is focused on completing the parking ramp.